FAMILIES of victims and survivors marked the 25th anniversary of the Kegworth air disaster with a church service and memorial visit.

The spire of St Andrew’s Church, in Kegworth, was probably one of the last things 21-year-old Paul Mulholland saw before the Kegworth plane crash which claimed his and 46 other lives.

It was to this 14th-century church his grieving parents, Jim and Mairead, David’s sister and three brothers made a pilgrimage yesterday, to join villagers in a service to commemorate that fateful night a quarter of a century ago.

Prayers which were said during the half-hour service were punctuated by the noise of the regular flights of passenger aircraft overhead bound for nearby East Midlands Airport.

Mr Mulholland, 69, of Belfast, said: “I learned that one of the last things my son would have seen was the spire of this church. It gives us a little bit of consolation and it means a lot to us to be here today.

“This is the last place my son was alive. I wanted to retrace his footsteps.

“He had been to London for a job interview.

“We came over for the 10th and the 20th anniversaries of the crash and we could not have got any more help or support than we have had from this community.”

The family also visited the memorial to the disaster in the village cemetery and a bridge overlooking the crash scene.

One of the 74 survivors was a retired military officer who suffered major injuries to his pelvis and legs.

There were several members of the SAS on board that night.

The retired officer, who asked not to be named, said: “There wasn’t much that wasn’t broken. I was in hospital for six months and needed several operations on my damaged hip.

“I feel very grateful to the people of Kegworth. There were a lot of volunteers there on the night.

“I was found on the embankment and I was one of the first away on the ambulances. I only have vague memories of the night but I remember the fire service pulling people like me from the wreckage.”

The Rev Tony Edmonds, vicar of Kegworth and Hathern, said: “It was a journey which should have brought Christmas to a joyful end but it ended not in joy, but in sorrow.

“In our prayers today let us remember those whose lives continue to be affected by events of 25 years ago.”

Can you remember the Kegworth air crash? Let us know your stories by e-mail at newsdesk@nottinghamopst.com?

Flowers were laid at the granite memorial to the disaster in the village cemetery by dignitaries including Lesley Pendleton, clerk to Kegworth Parish Council.

Comments

Once again, thank you so much to the people of Kegworth and the surrounding areas for their continued kindness, warmth and sensitivity towards those of us who were directly affected by the tragic events of 25 years ago.
Although now living in Africa, over the past 12 years or so I traveled from Belfast to Nottingham many times to work at the headquarters of the Driving Standards Agency. During those trips I regularly visited the site of the crash that claimed the lives of my mother Patricia Irwin and my brother Peter Hynds.
I also visited the Memorial Garden many times, and was always deeply impressed, moved and humbled by the efforts people took to maintain it in such an excellent condition.
Thank you so much. It means a great deal.
Michael Hynds.